Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology

This week, ahead of the upcoming Labor Day holiday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee visited three community colleges across the state to highlight key investments in career, technical and vocational education and reaffirm the administration’s commitment to workforce development.

 On Aug. 28, Dyersburg State Community College welcomed Governor Lee and First Lady Maria Lee as they toured its Nursing and Emergency Medical Services labs.

Bloomberg, the prestigious global news and financial services company, reported Thursday, July 6, that Tennessee’s public technical colleges, the state’s free tuition programs, and partnerships with business and industry “offer a glimpse of the future” in career training and workforce development.

The Tennessee Board of Regents today approved tuition, fees and preliminary budgets for the 2021-22 academic year at the state’s community and technical colleges, updates to the systemwide strategic plan, and new training programs at the technical colleges.

The presidents of two Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have been re-elected to the governing board of the Council on Occupational Education, and two others are members of key COE committees.

Dr. Carol Puryear, president of TCAT Murfreesboro, and Dr. Jeff Sisk, president of TCAT Jackson, were re-elected to new three-year terms on the 19-member Commission of the Council on Occupational Education (COE) during COE’s recent Annual Business Session.

Students, faculty and staff at Tennessee’s community and technical colleges collected nearly 76,000 food items, including almost $28,000 in cash donations, for food pantries on their campuses and food banks and other organizations in their communities during the College System of Tennessee’s 22nd Annual Food Drive Challenge.

It’s no secret that Tennessee, like much of the nation, has experienced a shortage of skilled workers in recent years – with high demands for more nurses, computer technicians, welders and other technical fields. In an effort to encourage more young Tennesseans to consider one of these many careers, TBR – The College System of Tennessee has premiered an original children’s book entitled “Let’s Explore Technical Careers.”

All 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology have been accepted into the national Achieving the Dream Network, bolstering their commitment to the success of all students.

Tennessee’s Community Colleges awarded a record number of 15,874 degrees and technical certificates during the 2019-20 academic year – a 44 percent increase from a decade ago. The previous high was 15,240 two years ago.

Tennessee’s community colleges are welcoming students back for Fall semester, in a variety of class modalities and with a focus on keeping them healthy and safe as they continue their studies.

Eleven of the 13 community colleges start fall classes Monday, Aug. 24.  Northeast State Community College began classes Aug. 17 and Roane State Community College launched Aug. 19.

The 27 Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology start their Fall terms Sept. 1.

Tennessee SkillsUSA today announced its college Chapters of Excellence for 2020 at nine Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology and the Advisor of the Year.

The five Gold Award Chapters of Excellence winners are the Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology at Pulaski, Paris, Chattanooga, Memphis and Knoxville (ranked by order of their scores in the competition).

The four Silver Award Chapters of Excellence are TCATs Hohenwald, Dickson, Harriman and Hartsville.